The hypodermic needle, a hollow, pointed stainless steel cannula, attached to a syringe, is the standard medical device for giving injections to or withdrawing bodily fluids from a patient. However, this same needle and syringe can also be used by the health care worker to access and prepare the medication or injectant of choice prior to injection into the patient. This typically requires the insertion of the needle through an elastomeric stopper on standard medication vials.
Unfortunately, this obligatory preparation step sometimes results in needle coring, whereby the insertion of the sharp beveled needle tip into the rubber stopper on the medication vial creates a rubber "core" corresponding to the inside diameter of the needle. This rubber core can remain in the needle cannula, or can be withdrawn back into the attached syringe along with the desired medication or liquid, thereby contaminating the medication. In the worst case, the core itself can be subsequently reinjected directly into the patient's circulatory system or body tissue. Unfortunately, the size of the core makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to detect during normal medical procedures. Notwithstanding the small size of the core, however, standard medical practice requires the exclusion of any foreign body from a medicant or other fluid before injection. Moreover, the conventional technique of ejecting a small amount of fluid through the needle tip to eliminate contained air bubbles from the syringe does not eliminate the needle core. Prior art medical needles simply fail to address this most critical problem.
Moreover, this same problem can occur while delivering medication to a patient via an intravenous (IV) line or "piggyback" arrangement. In this situation a core can be created prior to or at the time of the insertion of the needle into the IV access port. The core can then be injected directly into the patient's system, again presenting a potentially dangerous situation during what should be the routine administration of medication to a patient. What is needed is an injection device which provides easy non-coring access to medications prior to injection, and which also ensures safe IV administration without the creation of a needle core.
An additional problem with the preliminary use of a needle to access and prepare medication for injection is the dulling of the needle that always occurs with just a single insertion of the needle into the rubber stopper on medication vials. The current solution to this problem is to change the needle after preparation of the medication and prior to injection into the patient, which is both problematic and wasteful. Removing the needle from the syringe can expose the syringe cylinder to air, and result in accidental spillage or contamination of the contents and exposure to health care workers. Moreover, most health care workers are not accustomed to this procedure, and the probability of an accidental needle stick when changing the needle only adds to their general reluctance to do so. Despite these problems, however, changing the needle is the only solution currently available.
What is needed is a time-saving, protective and economical injection device that provides separate means for accessing medication vials and for subsequently injecting patients, directly or via intravenous administration, both included in a single attachment for a syringe.